“What can I do for God? Nothing. In fact,
I can’t even seek Him; I can’t even repent. But what I can do is to
struggle. This means that I can commit myself to a life of asceticism,
to the practice of spiritual exercises. And I will undertake such a
commitment in a manner appropriate to my way of life, that is, depending
on my situation, character, physical strength, psychological
disposition, my history, my heredity, in terms of my gifts and so on.
Whatever role these factors play, there will be a commitment to
asceticism.
Earlier we said that pain begins with the
experience of pleasure. Of course, we wanted only the pleasure, not the
pain. But now I must embrace pain in order to regain true pleasure.
Why? Because we were created for pleasure. God created Adam and Eve and
placed them in the garden of “delights”, for this is what the word
“Eden” means.
… asceticism is a way in which I as a
human being, set about attracting the attention of God. … Does God have
need of such activity? I will say only this: it is something I can do,
and God wants me to do what I can. …It’s my preparation in order to
seek, want, actively desire, love and finally, receive God. What we’re
attending to now are the preparations, just as we would sweep the house
in preparation for a visit by our spiritual father. Thus I give
expression to my inner disposition by enduring the coldness, and filth
that is within me, and accepting my nakedness and acknowledging it
before God. Asceticism is the way I cry out to Him.”
- Elder Aimilianos, The Way of the Spirit p. 18-19
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